.15(1) - International UNCLASSIFIED ‘THE MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS PHONE CALL WITH IBRAHIM ABDULAZZIZ AL-ASSAF, MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS KINGDOM OF SAUDI ARABIA Date and Time TBD CONTEXT ‘+ This Will be your first interaction with Mr. alAssaf in his new capacity as Saudi Foreign Minister. Al-Assaf headed the Saudi delegation at the G20 Leaders Summit in Hamburg, Germany, in July 2017. Saudi Arabia will host the G20 Summit in 2020. ‘+ Saudi Cabinet Shuffle: On December 27, Saudi King Salman announced a substantial cabinet shuffle, Ibrahim Al-Assaf has replaced former FM Adel al-Jubeir. AlAssaf was a former long-term Finance Minister and sits on the board of directors of ARAMCO as well as being involved in the ‘wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund (PIF). For further analysis on the cabinet shuffle please refer to attachment. n January 3, Saudi state media reported that the 11 suspects in have attended their first court hearing. Bilateral Dispute: Since the August 5 downgrading of relations by the Saudis, the bilateral relatiorship between Canada and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has remained, with having implemented multiple punitive measures over the last few months Yemen: Peace consultations in Sweden wrapped up on December 13 with plans for another round of consultations early in 2019, These were the first such discussions by the parties to the conflict in two years. TOP LINE MESSAGES * Congratulations on your new appointment. Also understand you will be celebrating your 70" birthday at the end of the month. ‘+ Strongly support the UN-sponsored peace consultations on Yemen. Pleased to see Saudi efforts in this regard. 1 BPTS: 00006-2019 January 11, 2019 000001'8.15(1) - International POINTS TO REGISTER Appointment as Foreign Minister ‘+ Congratulations on your new appointment. ‘+ This follows on your valuable work as head of the Saudi delegation at the G20 Leaders Summit in Germany in July 2017. You must be looking forward to Saudi Arabia hosting the G20 Leaders Summit in. 2020, ‘+ Also understand you will be celebrating your 70th birthday at the end of the month. Yemen ‘+ Appreciate the hard work and heawy lifting by the Saudis and encourage ongoing efforts in this regard. + Canada stands ready to support and assist in the peace process. Exploring a range of options for assisting the implementation of confidence-building measures and look forward to the second round of peace consultations. “s Regajding the asylum case of Ms Rahaf Moham Wunun, that she qualifies for asylum and asked Canada to provide for this - Responsive Other Issues (Murder of Jamal Khashoggi & Human Rights Concerns) ‘+The murder of Jamal Khashoggi remains a key concer for the Canadian government and the international community. * A transparent investigation into his death very important. + Human rights a significant priority for Canada. Will continue to advocate for them — strongly, firmly and olearly. Responsive — Resettlement of Ms Al-Qunun * The UNHCR had approached Canada in Thailandin relation to the case of Rahaf Mohammed ak Qunun, The UNHCR concluded that Ms. Al-Qunun qualified for resettlement and the UNHCR requested that Canada accept Ms Al-Qunun and we agreed to allow her to resettle in Canada. 2 BPTS: 00006-2019 January 11, 2019 00002'8.15(1) - International ‘© Ingeneral, Canada relies on the United Nations Refugees Agency (UNHCR), other referral organizations and private sponsorship groups for referrals of refugees who need to be resettled. + Forthose referred by the UNHCR, individuals need to be registered with the UNHCR. Individuals cannot apply directly for resettlement to Canada. ‘+ The key point is that the UNHCR has concluded that she met the necessary criteria and they have requested Canada to play a role. We have an obligation and commitment to do so. ‘+ Canada supports wholeheartedly the intemational noms and rule of law established by the intemational community. The UNHCR forms an integral part of this system and we support its work, 3 BPTS: 00006-2019 January 11, 2019 000003